Gabriels Gully Gold Fossicking Area: Fossicking in Clutha District, Otago
- Mineral reported
- 1
Gabriels Gully Gold Fossicking Area is a mapped fossicking spot in Clutha District, Otago, New Zealand. Reported finds include gold. Below: coordinates, access notes, and nearby spots.
About Gabriels Gully Gold Fossicking Area
Gabriels Gully, 3 km from Lawrence and about 92 km from Dunedin on State Highway 8, is where Gabriel Read found payable gold in May 1861, the first major gold find in Otago and the spark for the rushes that made the region New Zealand's wealthiest. The gully is now a DOC historic reserve, managed with the Lawrence community, with a 3 km gravel walking track, a viewing platform and 14 interpretation panels. Mining relics from 1861 to the 1930s survive, including water races, stamper batteries, hydraulic sluicing faces and mine shafts. A designated fossicking area lets visitors pan the same ground with hand-held tools.
Plan your visit
Generally open to casual fossicking
- Area
- Clutha District
- Region
- Otago
- Coordinates
- -45.88170, 169.68430
Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground and access before you head out.
Land & fossicking status
Generally open to casual fossicking
Public-tagged New Zealand spots are usually designated public gold fossicking areas under the Crown Minerals Act or beaches where casual collecting of loose stones is accepted. Hand tools only, and check local conditions before you dig.
Stay inside public fossicking areas for gold panning, use hand tools only, and treat DOC reserves and national parks as closed to collecting. Pounamu (greenstone) in the South Island is owned by Ngai Tahu, and collecting it is prohibited apart from a limited beach find you can carry out by hand in one trip.
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Nearby fossicking spots
Other fossicking spots in New Zealand within driving distance of Gabriels Gully Gold Fossicking Area.
- Arrow River Gold Fossicking AreaQueenstown-Lakes District, Otago · 124 km awayGold
- Tucker Beach (Shotover River) Gold Fossicking AreaQueenstown-Lakes District, Otago · 126 km awayGold
- Five Mile Creek Gold Fossicking AreaQueenstown-Lakes District, Otago · 128 km awayGold
- Twelve Mile Creek Gold Fossicking AreaQueenstown-Lakes District, Otago · 132 km awayGold
- Gemstone BeachSouthland District, Southland · 157 km awayGarnet, Jasper, Quartz
- Birdlings FlatSelwyn District, Canterbury · 330 km awayAgate, Carnelian, Jasper
Gabriels Gully Gold Fossicking Area FAQ
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More fossicking in Otago
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